South Bristol residents approved the use of $114,000 for a water filtration system for the new well at South Bristol School during a special town meeting on Thursday, May 22.
About 30 voters attended the meeting to approve the warrant article, which includes funds for the filtration system, a new shed, connected pipes from South Bristol School, and water testing.
“The filtration is for radon mitigation and iron and manganese,” South Bristol Select Board member Adam Rice said.
The school’s new well had been built on Aug. 26, 2024 after elevated PFAS levels were discovered and declared dangerous for consumption back in spring 2023.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are synthetic chemicals that don’t break down easily in the natural environment, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. The substances have been widely used in consumer products and industrial applications, such as creating cleaning products or water resistant fabrics, since the 1940s.
At the town’s annual meeting on March 12, 2024, South Bristol voters approved allocating $100,000 from the Stratton Fund to cover the costs of drilling a new well and related work.
The new well passed state requirements and further testing for PFAS from the Maine Drinking Water Program in October 2024, but still showed high levels of radon.
Rice said that an official from the Maine Drinking Water Program commended the town for being “proactive” because the radon levels were just above the state threshold.
Within about six minutes, the funds were approved and moderator Don Means called for adjournment of the special town meeting.
